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Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

Ever since the first time I laid eyes on fresh honey coming out of an extractor in Priddis, Alberta when I was a kid, I wanted to have bees of my own one day. Then a few years ago a new found friend through 4-H had hives at his house and I checked them out and decided it was time to try beekeeping.........picked up a package of bees, installed them and havnt turned back since that evening!! Infact, its gotten bigger (and will get even more bigger) since then!! Love the honey, love working the bees, and love experimenting!!

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

BeeGhost,
My grandparents had bees when I was a kid. Also, "robbed" a few bee trees with my uncles when I was a kid. So, I've always had the interest! What really prompted me to take the plunge, was the present state of world affairs, I guess you can say I'm a "prepper". I also like honey on my bisquits!!!! memtb

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

It's all the local power company's fault!

I bought a nice piece of property that had no driveway, and no power. Part of the property was former pasture, but had been colonized by young cedars and hardwoods. After I built a long driveway, and wanted power, the power company engineer decided the best route was to shortcut a curve in the driveway, and forced me to clearcut the area under the powerline route.

Then I decided to grow some thornless blackberries under the powerlines to keep the trees from regrowing. After that I cleared more small trees to plant more berries, and then I began to worry that there might not be enough pollinators for all those berries.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I was trying to keep my Neighbor from taking his horses on the back of my property. 150 hives later that did not work. And I needed another hobby to take all my spare income and time. If I had realized it was so much fun spending thousands of dollars each year might have done it 20 years ago when I was younger and back was stronger.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

Beekeeping tweaks my naturalist being. My ranch raises grass fed, free range cattle like the ones your ancestors ate. A couple of years back and old pal of mine told me his good friend had recently died and his wife was selling his farm implements. He told me there was enough hive equipment to house three bee hives. I jumped on that deal and hived three packages of bees on April 7, 2010. I truly don't know why I hadn't gotten into the "bee thing" sooner. I'm 73 years old, and I can almost guarantee that I will die with bees. My bees live in West Texas brush country, and there are not any farming operations for at least 20 miles. I love the bees and the thought of making my area better with all of those pollinators working for me.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I grew up behind a few hundred acre orchard, had strawberries and veggies. Neighbor up the street has mini-orchard, has had 5-10 langs up there for 40+years. Across town there is a farm that I believe was part of the original land grant, those hives could very well have been there since before independence. Neighbor and I worked with a small pollinator, few hundred hives, for a few summers growing up, had a couple ourselves that ended up with AFB. That was when I lost my first dog so to speak. I'll bet I said @ least once a year for over 20 years, "This year I should get my B's back goin." Well you got women, golf, fishin, there are only so many hours in the day So I finally did it and boy am I glad I did !
p.s. Good thread idea !

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

Visited the state fair bee booth. I was really curious, asking lots of questions. My wife and her green thumb approached and she said, "You should do it." The man at the booth (my future mentor) said, "You should. Wives never say that."

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

For me it was a combination of factors: 1) When I was 4 y.o. I was stung on the foot by a bee working the clover in my grandfather's yard. He explained to me about bees and he gave me my first taste of honey. 2) Then we relocated near Buena Park, CA, where we visited Knott's Berry Farm. They had an observation hive in their basket shop, where I was able to observe the inner workings of a beehive. 3) After that I was hooked. I got my beekeeping equipment from santa for my ninth Christmas, and we put the bees in the hive before my tenth birthday.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I saw a show that made fact that honeybees were on the decline and I noticed there were very few bees on my dandelions. So I got started and jumped right in with both feet. I also stated a new company collecting swarms and providing a beehive removal service in structures as well as offering professional repairs.
I own a residential building company and the two companies compliment each other nicely.
Check out the facebook page. Dont foget to push your like button! lol

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I got into it a bit like Mr Beeman. I have heard and read stories of the bee decline and I realized that I had not really seen many bees around. I said someone needs to do something and I realized I was someone. I had a rocky 2012 (my first year) I have 1 current hive out of the 4 I got during the year. I will not be defeated.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

For some reason I don't remember for sure exactly what got my family and I to begin considering and studying beekeeping in the fall of 2011, but what actually got me started in it was when I got out of my car early last summer in front of my shop and had a swarm of bees flying above and around my head. I actually ducked from a bee at first when I got out of the car, but I knew then I had to catch them and I became a beekeeper. They're still alive so far, along with another from a hive cutout I did after that.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I have always been afraid of bees. My memories of bee stings are horrible, I remember them as the worst pain of my life. But, I also grew up loving the big mason jars of honey that my great-uncle brought to us every summer. I fondly remember eating the jar and chewing the chunks of comb.

About three years ago I just sort of got a little interested in beekeeping, and started reading everything I could about it. Then, in the fall of 2011 we got a 20 acre farm, which really has afforded me the opportunity to give it a try. I started last spring by buying one hive, but everyone was sold out of packages of bees in April when I got it. So, luckily, one of my husband's coworkers who lives in the area has a wild hive in his tree that swarmed, and my husband and I caught the swarm and put them in our hive. They have really thrived!

I have bought two more hives to have put together for this spring, and may buy two more as an anniversary present to myself.

I'm also a little embarrassed to say that since starting beekeeping in April, I haven't been stung at all. Actually, the last time I was stung by a bee was about 17 years ago. I'm nervous for when I do, but I wear gloves when dealing with the bees and my bees seem to be very, very gentle. I hope I don't cry like a baby when it happens!

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I have a friend that has kept a couple of hives of bees and I got interested in bees by helping and watching him. I was amazed at how the bees worked together. I bought a stack of lumber and started building hives. My wife thought I was crazy but still supported me. This all took place in the early spring of 2011. I bought four packages and started them in the equipment that I had built. I have since found a place where I can buy the boxes cheaper than building them. All four hives made it through the winter and I split them in the spring of 2012. They did very well. Then in the spring of 2012 I was being helped by a commercial beekeeper that I knew and he told me I should watch for swarms. My friend and I did just that. Between him, my wife and I we caught 16 swarms and had to scramble to get equipment put together. We haven't looked back and now I have built all the equipment to start rearing queens. My wife says she can't stop me, she can only hope to contain me. LOL. But in all honesty it is one thing that has brought my wife and I closer together and gives us something to do together. My 11 year old daughter loves working with the bee also. Thanks for letting me tell my story.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

Like LazyShooter in Post # 6 I'm also 76 but my story is a little different. At age 8 my father gave me a colony of bees from Sears Roebuck which I kept untill I joined the Army at 18. My first Boy Scout merit badge was Beekeeping. I had a 50 year gap in beekeeping while I worked my career mostly overseas and then a fellow gardner invited me to attend a local club's bee school about five years ago. Beekeeping is a deep seated true love for me and I couldn't be happier.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

My Dad kept bees throughout my childhood and up until a few years ago, I always had an interest in them and desired to have my own hive. I can still remember chewing on the honeycomb as a youngster, a good memory.

Around 20 years ago I did a trap out and a friend of mine gave me a deep box setup to put them in, well they died the first winter and that was it I guess, 20 years later here I am.

Three and a half years ago my wife found a hive advertized on Craigslist and asked me if I was interested, of course I jumped at the prospect of having bees again. It was in November and the the seller wanted $100 dollars for the hive, I looked at the pic and there was no super on the hive for winter stores so she worked on the seller for a week and they settled on $35.00 and two cats for this hive ( I would have driven there just to give them the cats ). I know it was a gamble, a real long shot that the hive would even make it through the winter but we drove to the location and found an old rotted deep box sitting directly on the ground, 5 frames were gone and 5 were partly collapsed with a very small cluster and virtually no stores. In shock and very disappointed we gave them the $35.00 and 2 cats, pried the hive from the ground with a piece of pipe wrapped up the hive in a tarp and drove home.

I rigged up a plastic feeder box on top of the hive inside a shallow super and fed the bees Megabee patties all winter with a heating pad set on low laying on top of the feeder, the bees came through a very cold winter with a fist sized cluster in the spring. I still have the old original mother queen with her hive and 5 more hives to boot, all the hives were started from her hive and her daughters are doing great, I have a total of 6 hives now and they were all out flying this weekend looking strong and healthy.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

Right before I retired from police work a good friend and colleague was blown up by a bomb and another lost his left leg in the same incident. When I did retire I needed something positive in my life to deal with it and all the other tragedies I had witnesses over the years.

Three years ago I saw the San Francisco Beekeepers Association observation hive set up at their booth at a garden show and it was love at first sight. Beekeeping changed my life and gave me a whole new outlook. I really can't explain it other than that. There's just something about honeybees that makes me very happy.

Re: Ok, what got you into beekeeping?

I am mesmerized by watching bees enter and exit the hive. I look at the benefits that bees offer to their environment, add a bit of honey for my table, and the mysteries that come with beekeeping. I'm hooked!